EuroCup Women Preview: Part One

With the EuroCup Women season about to begin we break down and analyse all eight groups. First up are Groups A to D.

Group A- BLMA, Chevakata, CSM Satu Mare & SISU

Ana Lelas and BLMA are back in the EuroCup Women after a solid season in the EuroLeague Women, making them one of the favourites in the competition

One of the teams installed as a frontrunner to land the title this season are Basket Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration. The French team are still unbeaten domestically, performed well in the EuroLeague Women last season and have superb players with a great blend of experience and youth - even just in the context of the French players.

SISU Basketball are one of the minnows of the competition in terms of pedigree, but at least managed to get a victory at the sixth and final attempt during last year's rookie campaign. It might be much more difficult this year despite the Gentofte club drafting in two players from the United States in Nathalie Reshard and Marie Malone, who are expected to lead the Danish players on the team.

Amanda Houts and Hainaut Basket will try to brush aside a rough start in the French league and get back on track with added EuroCup Women experience

This Group looks relatively open- or at least on current form. Most people would have made French club Hainaut Basket favourites but they have had a worrying start domestically with four losses in their first five games. Still, EuroCup Women gives them something fresh to focus on and may help them discover a winning formula.

Optimum TED Ankara made the post-season last year before being dumped out in the Eighth-Finals by MBK Ruzomberok. They could again get out of the first phase with the offensive production of Ana Dabovic who averaged over 20 points per game two seasons ago when with Dynamo-GUVD. With a solid if unspectacular core of Turkish players though, success won't be guaranteed.

Both Belorussian club Olimpia Grodno and Belgian side Lotto Young Cats will rely on rising talent to get wins. The former will pin their hopes on Maryia Filonchyk whilst FIBA Europe Young Player Of The Year Emma Meesseman flying the nest means Lotto Young Cats have an almost immeasurable void to fill.

It was a painful season for Tarbes Gespe Bigorre last year in the Euroleague Women when they failed to harvest a solitary win from 12 games. But, they may enjoy a more fruitful time in the EuroCup Women and emerge unscathed from Group C - even if their 1-4 record in the French League is cause for concern. Paoline Salagnac will be the player to make Tarbes tick along with Angelica Robinson.

Mersin Büyüksehir Belediye will strongly fancy their chances to top the group since they can once again utilise the immense scoring power of recently crowned WNBA champion Shavonte Zellous, who will not be available in the first outing against Tarbes due to the long play-off run in the WNBA. At the other end of the spectrum, be sure to follow the progress of Merve Aydin, a teenage guard with incredible court smarts who won a first ever women's youth medal for Turkey at the U20 European Championship Women in Debrecen - despite being younger than most of her team-mates.

Spartak Noginsk and Belfius Namur won't be expected to advance although this looks more the case with the Russian club who looks threadbare in quality and are favourites to finish bottom of the standings in the Russian league. The Belgian club meanwhile can at least boast the likes of Mali national team centre Djenebou Sissoko who will make a belated debut in European club competition.

Anastasia Shilova posted great numbers for a young player in the Dynamo GUVD jersey last season and is expected to be a leader this year

Group D - TSV Wasserburg, Nantes Reze, Dynamo-GUVD & BBC SKW

Much has been made of the return to the competition by the ambitious TSV 1880 Wasserburg and they certainly have the capacity to surprise and even progress in Group D. Head coach Bastian Wernthaler has tried to temper expectations by labelling his team as underdogs, but they should be quietly confident with German national team star Anne Breitreiner back on board.

Nantes Reze are probably favourites after four wins from their first five games in the French League. They have Latvian veteran Gunta Basko-Melnbarde, former French national team player Marielle Amant and playmaker Caroline Aubert. They have however had to cope with the disappointment of losing Belarus forward Tatyana Troina who has been ruled out for the season due to injury.

Finally, fans of women's youth basketball everywhere will be looking forward to seeing 1995 born Belgian sensation Hind Ben Abdelkader back in the competition having switched from Dexia Namur to BBC Sint-Katelijne-Waver. She is also joined at her new club by another rising star in the shape of 1996 born centre Kyra Linskens.